After I first began working in fundraising, I believed the final word purpose was clear: assist folks give. And sure—giving is sweet. It fuels missions, helps change, and retains organizations working.
However over time, I noticed that rising giving isn’t the identical as cultivating generosity.
Regrets—and What It Taught Me
Early in my profession, I attended a networking occasion and was drawn to a speaker who appeared deeply aligned with the values of the group I labored for. I believed, He’d be a fantastic donor.
So I launched myself afterward and invited him to lunch—not as a fundraiser, however as somebody searching for a mentor. I introduced it as a private, casual connection. However beneath the floor, I hoped that this may result in monetary help.
We met a couple of occasions. On the third lunch, he requested me, “So what do you do?”
After I informed him I used to be a fundraiser, I noticed one thing shift in his expression. Not judgment—simply shock. It was clear he felt caught off guard.
I used to be embarrassed. We by no means met once more. He by no means made a present.
And I realized one thing I’ve carried ever since: you’ll be able to pursue a present with out cultivating generosity—and generally at the price of it.
The Similar Instruments Can Serve Generosity—or Exploitation
A donor lunch isn’t inherently unhealthy. Neither is a mailed attraction, a present proposal, or a video attraction on YouTube. These are simply techniques.
However techniques could be bent towards very completely different ends.
They can be utilized to foster connection, readability, and shared function. They’ll increase every companions’ view of the world and the folks in it.
Or they can be utilized to control. To flatter. To guilt. To extract. And once we use them that manner—once we pursue items with out care for a way the donor experiences the method—we will simply cross a line into exploitation.
Exploitation doesn’t all the time look sinister. It may well put on a smile and quote your mission assertion. Nevertheless it nonetheless leaves folks feeling used.
True Generosity Isn’t About Your Group
Right here’s a deeper shift that modified how I take into consideration fundraising: True generosity doesn’t finish with a present to our group. In reality, it won’t embrace one in any respect.
Generosity is a posture towards the world. It’s how somebody offers their cash, sure—but additionally their time, their consideration, and their belief.
The query we must be asking ourselves isn’t simply did they offer? It’s:
After this dialog, will this individual be roughly more likely to be beneficiant to others sooner or later?
It’s not nearly whether or not we secured the donation—it’s about whether or not we contributed to an individual’s progress in generosity, or hindered it.
The Stress Is Actual—and That’s What Makes This Exhausting
Let me be clear: nonprofit leaders are beneath immense strain.
We face budgets to fulfill, packages to maintain, and infrequently, the very survival of the work we care about is on the road. It’s no marvel we generally default to techniques that “work,” even when they value us one thing relationally or ethically.
I get it. I’ve felt that strain. It’s not small.
However now we have to ask ourselves—what sort of tradition are we constructing if we hit our numbers however shrink our donors’ belief within the course of? What does it imply if our mission succeeds, however folks really feel much less open, much less free, and fewer beneficiant due to their expertise with us?
What We Really Need
We don’t simply need items. We wish progress.
We need to assist folks stay open-handed lives.
We need to make it extra possible—not much less—that they’ll say “sure” once more. To us. To others. To the wants they see of their communities.
Even early on, I had a way that fundraising was about greater than cash—it was about rising generosity.
What I wanted wasn’t a brand new concept—it was a reminder of one thing I had recognized deep down all alongside:
Our work isn’t nearly securing items. It’s about shaping people who find themselves extra beneficiant, not simply to us, however to the world.
This reflection was sparked partly by Jason Lewis’s current article on “The Present Doesn’t Wish to Be Predicted or Managed—It Desires to Be Skilled”. His writing helped floor language for one thing I’ve lengthy felt however struggled to call. I extremely suggest it.
